Welcome everyone to this auspicious day. On this occasion I am going to deliver a speech on the great politician and female power Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
I am extremely obliged at the action of the organizers of this program who had chosen me as the speaker. I would also request you all to please pardon me for any mistakes that I might make during this talk unknowingly. I am extremely open to corrections.
To know about Mrs. Indira Gandhi, it is best to have a background of her personal life and early career. Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was born on the 19th day of November 1917 at Allahabad which included the United provinces of Agra and Oudh in British India and is now situated in Uttar Pradesh.
Her Maiden name was Indira Priyadarshini Nehru and she was born to a Kashmiri Pandit family, her father being the great politician and Indian Statesman Jawaharlal Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru’s contributions to the freedom movement and the independence of India from the foreign rule is something we all know about. She was the only surviving child of Jawaharlal Nehru who also had a son, but he died young.
Young Indira Nehru was mostly Home School and did not attend school until she completed her matriculation in 1934. After that she was admitted into convent schools in Allahabad and later at the international school of Geneva in Bex and Pupil’s Own School in Bombay.
Later along with her mother Kamla Nehru, Indira shifted to Belur moth which was the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission and later she was admitted into the Visva Bharati University in Shantiniketan. Another interesting fact for you guys is that Mrs. Indira Gandhi is often known as Priyadarshini.
This was given to her by the great playwright and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore himself. After that she came to be known as Indira Priyadarshini Nehru. Almost after year she left Visva Bharati to take care of her mother who was in Europe and sick at that time.
During her stint at Britain, her parents decided that she would be continuing education at the University of Oxford. Shortly after, her mother died. After that she attended badminton school and then moved on to Somerville college to study History.
She is also a great example for all you people who do not get good marks because Mrs. Gandhi too failed at her first attempt in the entrance examination with port performance in Latin. So, do not give up hopes folks, marks are not the only thing that decide how great you will be. However just at that moment the Second World War started, and everything went opposite in her life.
She tried to leave Europe return to India, but she could not because of the restrictions due to the war and she is had to relieve her education Midway in England. The University of Oxford however later gave her an honorary degree. While she was in England she also met her future husband Mr. Firoz Gandhi.
Do not be surprised by the surname my dear friends she had no relation to Mahatma Gandhi. The outcome of the marriage resulted in two sons Neemli Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. Both were also involved in active politics in their life Times.
Indira Gandhi’s Political career started quite early in her life serving her father on officially as his personal assistant when he was the first Prime Minister of India in the 1950’s. She even presided over the All India Congress in the list 1950.
It was because of her tireless efforts that the communist government in Kerala was dismissed by the 1960. The Congress head always been opposing the idea of total Communism. After the demise of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, she stood for elections and was appointed as a member of the Rajya Sabha serving the Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in his cabinet as a Minister of Information and Broadcasting.
It was after the death of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri that Indira Gandhi rose to prominence. Her electoral opponents always underestimated her because of her being a female contestant.
However, because of the backing of few veteran Congress leaders in the party, her victory was cemented. One theory is that the leaders supported her because they considered that she was weak and could be influenced easily.
Throughout her political career she was elected as the Prime Minister of India three times and is known for exceptional achievements like the flagship Operation Blue Star to combat the Khalistan terrorists. Sadly, however she was assassinated in the year 1984 on the day of 31st October by to offer bodyguards Sawant Singh and Beant Singh who shot her with their service weapons while she was taking a stroll in the garden of her official residence at Safdarjung Road New Delhi.
Leave a Reply